Two faces, one person
by Fujiwara Kumiko
Summary: Tsubasa wanted to get to know her and so she told him but she won't tell him or Mikan and the others what her alice is. He and his friends decides to spy on her and eventually they see things they shouldn't have.
1. First Meeting

**A/N:** Konnichiwa! I decided to make this fanfic since I noticed that most of the fanfics were about mikanxnatsume, hotaruxruka, etc...And anyway this fanfic came into my mind as I was watching the show. So, I hoped you'll enjoy this fanfic.

**Summary: **Tsubasa, an Alice high school student. He was just taking a nap on top of a tree as usual but when he woke up he noticed that he wasn't alone. A girl he never noticed before, but she claims that she has been in the Alice Academy ever since she was 4 years old. And she won't tell him what her Alice is or what type it is. This made him very curious and so he asked his friends to help him find out more about her.

As they progress, they started to uncover shocking things about her. Then they hear rumors that a high school Alice student was seen wandering around the grounds at night. Mikan who was helping Tsubasa starts to think that Natsume knows something they don't about her.

Will they find out?

* * *

**Chapter One: First Meeting **

**On the school grounds...**

As usual, it was a fine day at the Alice Academy. All students were busy going through their school work and going to their respective classes. There was one student who wasn't doing anything at all except sleeping.

On a branch of one of the trees lay a high school student who had his cap covering his eyes as he dozed off. His name was Tsubasa, a high school student whose Alice belongs to the special-ability type. Rays of sunlight started to shine on his eyes causing him to wake up at last. Stretching first he fixed his cap and looked around.

_"That was a good nap..."_ He thought to himself as he eased himself onto the ground. "Well, I better get going."

As he starts to go back to the school he suddenly stops in his track as when he saw something which took his breath away. There was a girl sitting under a tree. Judging from her uniform, he figured that she was in the same level as him like him. She was currently reading a book through her glasses.

She had long straight brown hair which was tied in half-ponytail. He was able to see that her eyes were brown as well. Although, he was about a meter away from her she failed to notice someone watching her.

Then she closed her book, and placed her hand in her pocket to look for something. Finally finding it, she takes out a gold pocket watch which had a long chain. Pressing the button on top she opened it and looked at the time.

"Oh dear...I better get going or else I'll be late." She whispered to herself and placed it back in her pocket.

She stood up and fixed her skirt before checking to make sure she didn't drop anything. So, she starts to walk away when she stops when she saw someone in her way.

"Um...sorry...I didn't mean to spy on you..." apologized Tsubasa, rubbing the back of his head."I was just..."

The girl smiled at him and said "It's okay, you didn't do anything wrong."

Tsubasa blushed slightly when he saw her smile and then he introduced himself. "My name is Tsubasa. May I know your name?" He held out a hand to her signaling that he wanted to shake hands.

She looked at him before taking his hand and smiled. "My name is Mei... It's nice to meet you." replied Mei as she shook Tsubasa hand. "Well, I better get going."

She bowed and begins to walk past him when Tsubasa grabs her wrist. She looked at him with a confused look but she didn't try to resist.

"Um...why don't we have tea together some time?" asked Tsubasa then he gave her a big smile and added, . "I'll bring my friends too."

"Sure, why not?" Mei accepted his offer and begins to think if she was busy or not later. "I'm not doing anything later so I can have tea with you and your friends."

"Great! How about later this afternoon?" Tsubasa suggested, excited to hear that she was available.

"Sure, well see you later." Mei waved at him and begins to walk away.

He just watched her until she was out of sight. When there was no one around Tsubasa let out a cheer and even jumped into the air. "Yes! I really want to get to know her..." Tsubasa said to himself as he goes off to look for Mikan and the others.

* * *

**Inside...**

"You finally came..." Persona said to the student who had just entered the room.

He didn't budge after his student closed the door. The student was a female high school student. She had long dark hair tied in a ponytail. She wore a special earring like Persona. There weren't any emotions displayed on her face at all. And it has been like that for a long time.

"At least I wasn't late..." The girl answered as she walked towards Persona.

They both were in an empty classroom with the lights closed and the curtain closed as well. However, the window which Persona was looking through had its curtains half open. She just stared at him waiting for him to give instructions. For a long time she has been obeying Persona and for one reason alone.

He finally turned to her and looks at her through his mask." Shall we begin?"

"Of course..." the girl replied softly.

* * *

**In the hallways**

"HOTARU! Why do you have to be so mean to ME?" wailed Mikan as gushes of tears comes out of her eyes.

Hotaru sighed before answering. "I told you not to disturb me but then you decided to help me by giving those weird cookies?"

Mikan continued to cry and she cried even harder after hearing Hotaru's answer. With them was Ruka who was holding his rabbit friend as usual. He sighed as he watched Mikan cry some more. Finally he turned around and was about to walk away when he saw Tsubasa walking towards him.

Hotaru noticed Ruka looking and looked too. She noticed that he seemed to be really happy about something. Mikan who failed to notice Tsubasa approaching just kept on crying her eyes off. Finally, Hotaru took out her horse shoe contraption and punched Mikan.

"HEY! WHY DID YOU DO THAT HOTARU?" screamed Mikan and then she stopped when she saw Tsubasa. "Oh! Tsubasa! You're here!"

"Oh hi there Mikan!" greeted Tsubasa as he stopped in front of them. "Are you three busy later?" he asked, hoping that they were available, although knowing them, he was sure that they would be glad to join him.

"Why? Is there something happening?" asked Mikan and stood up. She then noticed Tsubasa's strange behavior at the moment. For some reason, he was kind of nervous and his face even lokoed a bit red.

"I just wanted to invite you three to have tea with me and..." Tsubasa blushed slightly. "With a friend of mine..." He had said that last sentence in a soft voice, a bit embarassed.

"Who is this friend?" Hotaru asked calmly, although she sould tell what was going on and who this 'friend' of his is.

Thinking the exact same thing, Ruka said, "I'm guessing it's a girl. Am I right?" He looked at Tsubasa who smiled nervously.

"W-Well...something like that...you see I just met her a while ago and I wanted to get to know her and so..." explained Tsubasa and he looked away. His face getting redder and getting even more embarassed.

Seeing that a friend of theirs needed their support, Mikan immediately made up her mind. "Okay!" Mikan shouted happily and made them look at her. Hotaru sighed knowing what was going to happen next.

"Huh?" Tsubasa stared at Mikan, a bit startled at her outburst.

"Don't worry Tsubasa! We'll go with you!" Mikan smiled at him and looked at Ruka and Hotaru. "We'll go with you right guys?"

Both of them just looked away which made Mikan start pouting again and making them to go with her. As usual, Hotaru tried to make Mikan go away with one of her inventions. Meanwhile, Tsubasa just stood there watching them. Happy that they agreed to come with him.

"I can't wait."

* * *

**Later that afternoon**

"Hey! Hurry up Hotaru!"

Walking along the school grounds was Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka. Both of them were looking for the place Tsubasa had asked them to go to for them to have tea. Mikan who was excited to meet his new friend was ahead of the two who were just taking their time.

"Hey! I'm over here!" Tsubasa waved his arms trying to get their attention. He had picked the spot where Mikan had tea with Mr. Narumi not too long ago.

"Tsubasa!" waved Mikan as she walked closer to Tsubasa.

When she arrived she saw that everything was set up. A lovely table cloth which had nice floral prints all over it, pretty teacups with a matching tea pot, a plate of delicious-looking cookies was placed in the middle, napkins for each of them, a sugarbowl that was filled to the rimmed with sugar cubes, and a small pot of milk for their tea.

"Wow! This looks fantastic!" a starry-eyed Mikan complimented/ She sat down and began to examine the teacups.

"So, where is you friend?" Ruka asked, as he noticed that it was just the four of them. He looked around expecting to fine her nearby but he saw no one else.

"That's right, I thought you said that you're girlfriend was going to be here." Hotaru said as she takes a seat beside Ruka, taking the napkin and gently placing it on her lap.

This made Tsubasa turn red and he exclaimed, nodding his head 'no', "Don't be ridiculous! She's not my girlfriend! I mean...I just met her earlier!" Deciding to serve them first, he took his seat and said to them, "Go ahead, help yourselves"

"Yay! This looks great!" Miakn reached for the teapot and fills her teacup before getting some cookies to eat.

The three of them began to help themselves to some tea and biscuits. While Tsubasa was busy looking for Mei who seemed to be a tad bit late. He didn't even bother to pour tea for himself or have a cookie. After a few moments, he finally saw a girl walking around who seemed to be lost.

Recognizing her, he stoop up and called out, "Hey! Mei! It's me!"

Hearing his voice she turned to his direction and smiled. "Tsubasa! I finally found you." Relieved, that she was able to find him at last although she did feel a bit guilty that she didn't come on time.

Excited, he runs over to her. Embarrased, his friend began apologizing over and over on the fact that she was late because she had gotten lost. But Tsubasa immediately forgave her and pointed at the three to indicate that they were his friends that he had mentioned earlier. She looked at them and said something to him with a warm smile on her face.

Mikan turns in her seat as the two were some distance away behind her. Just one look and she saw that their guest was a pretty one. "Wow...she's pretty...no wonder Tsubasa wanted to have tea with her..."

Following her gaze to the two he agreed, "Yeah...although...she seems kind of familiar..." He added, as he gently rubs the ears of his rabbit.

Hotaru just kept silent as she observes Tsubasa's guest. To her, she seemed to be a nice person and then something caught her eyes. Something on her collar that had caught her attention. _"Her stars..."_

Finally, both of them reached the table. Tsubasa did the honor of introducing her to them. "Everybody, this is Mei."

"It's very nice to meet all of you." She said, before taking her seat between Mikan and Tsubasa. Observing the tea and the biscuits on the table she turned to Tsubasa and said, "This looks lovely."

"Yeah it sure does and it taste great!" Mikan said as she smiles at Mei. "Hi, I'm Mikan. And these are my friends Hotaru and Ruka." Mikan pointed to them as each of them were introduced. Both of them just looked at her. Knowing Mikan they knew that she was going to do that anyway and they drank their tea.

Wanting to make a good impression, Tsubasa decided to pour the tea so he took the teapot and asked, "Would you like some tea?"

"Why yes thank you." Mei held out her cup for Tsubasa to pour tea into. She then started to pour some milk and put some sugar into her tea.

"Anyway, you're a high school student?" Mikan asked as she hands Mei a plate of biscuits.

"That's right, actually I'm in the same class as Tsubasa." replied Mei as she helps herself to some biscuits. "Although I never got the chance to introduce myself, you see most of the time I'm reading books."

"Really? Well, I guess most of the time I'm just taking a nap." Tsubasa shrugged as he drinks some tea. "What's your favorite subject?"

"I don't really have a favorite subject; any subject is fine with me."

Ruka continues to watch her as he drinks his tea. Then he noticed the stars on her collar. Seeing this, he knew that she indeed was a very smart student

"Y-You're a triple star student?" choked Ruka and then wiped his mouth after realizing what he had just done.

"Huh?" Mei looks at her collar. "Yeah that's right, I'm trying to get into the honor roll. That's another reason why I read most of the time." Obviously, she was being modest for she didn't try to make it obvious that she was a candidate for the honor roll.

Tsubasa suddenly gets a flashback of somebody a few rows ahead of him in class. One of his classmates always participating in class. Everyday, the same person would raise her hand whenever a teacher asks a question. And every time she would get it right.

"That's right! Now I remember! You're the one who always recite in class!" He slapped his forehead lightly feeling stupid that he didn't recognize her earlier.

_"Finally..." _she thought and she laughed at his silliness. "I'm glad that you remembered..." Wanting to change the subject from her and her academic status, she turned to Mikan. "How about? Are you doing well in class?

Recalling her current perofrmance in class, she immediately began to sulk. "Well...not really..." And she pointed at her collar with a sad look on her face. "And I don't have any stars yet..."

Not wanting to make her even more upset, Mei said in a kind way, "That's alright...I'm sure that you'll do better in the near future..."

"You really think so?"

"It's impossible for someone who has been in here for almost 5 months and doesn't have a star yet." Mei explained and puts her hand on Mikan's head. "Besides I heard from a teacher that a student had just entered here with a nullification Alice."

After hearing those kind words from Mei made Mikan happy again. "You know what? You're a really nice person."

Glad that she was able to make her smile again, she said sincerely, "Thank you and you are nice as well."

The she turns to Ruka and Hotaru who had been sitting quietly. "How about you two?"

Feeling kind of left out, Tsubasa took over this time. "Oh, it's Hotaru who is the triple-star student among these three. And she's the one who invents all kings of gadgets!"

"Why yes, I remember you...but then, practically the whole school knows you because of you amazing Alice!" Mei praised Hotaru who wasn't affected at all by what they were saying.

Then all of them began asking Mei all kinds of questions. Mei told them her favorite colors, books, food, etc. In exchange, she asked the three of them the same questions.

"So what's your Alice?" asks Mikan.

Finally asking the question everybody looks at Mei and waits for her to answer. She just sat there as first with her bangs hiding her eyes. Now this was a question that she didn't want to answer that easily, she came up with an idea. Slowly, she looks, showing the smile on her face, she replied, "It's...a...secret..."

This made all of them except for Hotaru to fall anime-style for they were anxious to hear what she can do. But she had convinced them for moment that she was serious and was going to tell them.

"Come on, why don't you tell us?" Tsubasa asked as he eases himself back on his chair.

"Yeah, we promise we won't laugh." added Mikan as she goes beside Mei who just smiled at them. "Come on, please tell us."

"It won't hurt to tell us would it?" Hotaru asked holding a weird contraption. "Unless, you want me to use this."

"Hey Hotaru aren't you going a bit too far?" Ruka asked anxiously, holding onto to his animal friend. "You don't have to do that you know..."

Hotaru, not listening pressed a button and aimed at Mei who just sat there. She smiled at Hotaru, being confident that nothing will happen. This made Hotaru a bit annoyed.

"Stop it Hotaru! You don't have to do this!" Mikan jumped between Hotaru and Mei, not wanting her to do anything to their new friend.

Annoyed but her idiocy she ignored Mikan. "Idiot." said Hotaru and pressed a button.

"NO!" the three of them shouted.

Mikan just stayed where she was as a blue ball came out of the gun and headed towards her. Although she had a nullifying Alice, it was too late. When it hit her blue smoke surrounded her and they rushed away from the table. Blue smoke suddenly engulfed the three of them.

"Hey Mei!" shouted Tsubasa as he tries to look for her amidst the smoke.

"Mikan!" called Ruka, worried that she might be hurt or something.

The smoke soon cleared and they saw that they were all right except for the fact that Mikan was blue. Sweat drops appeared on their faces except for Hotaru and Mei. Immediately Mikan burst into tears and started screaming at Hotaru.

"YOU'RE SO MEAN!"

Hotaru just stood there making deciding whether or not she should bring out her baka gun. Seeing this, Mei stood up and walked to Mikan. She kneeled down and handed Mikan her handkerchief. Mikan just looked at her, being confused and all.

"Here, you can use this." Mei said with her kind voice. "Don't cry, we can wash it off."

Mikan looked at Mei with some tears in her eyes and smiled as she accepts the handkerchief. "Thank you very much Mei."

"Wow, you're a really nice person." Tsubasa said as he approaches them. "Looks like the party is over."

"Yeah...I guess..." Ruka said as he looks at the mess and he was amazed that Mei doesn't have any trace of the blue powder on her. _"Could it be because of her Alice?"_

Mei takes Mikan's hand and looks at Ruka. "Are you going to help us?"

"Um...sure..." Ruka follows the now blue Mikan and Mei. "So, how are we going to wash it off?"

Mei looks up as she thinks of something. "We could try and give her a bath..."

Tsubasa watches them walk away. Although it was over, he was still glad to be able to get to know her. But, there was still something he couldn't stop thinking about.

_"I wonder why she won't tell us her Alice." _He thought to himself and then he smiles. _"I guess a little persuading will do."_

In the distance a certain boy was watching them. It was Natsume, at first he was just reading his comic under a nearby tree. Then he heard the explosion and decided to check it out. He was not surprised to see Mikan involved. And then he saw Mei with them.

"What is she doing with them?"


	2. Reikon

**A/N: **Arigato to those who reviewed! I really appreciated it. And I am happy that you liked the first chapter. Yes, I can tell you found it interesting and especially since Tsubasa is kind of the main character here but Mikan and the others are involved of course. So, I'll now continue this fanfic!

* * *

**Summary: **Tsubasa, an Alice high school student. He was just taking a nap on top of a tree as usual but when he woke up he noticed that he wasn't alone. A girl he never noticed before, but she claims that she has been in the Alice Academy ever since she was 4 years old. And she won't tell him what her Alice is or what type it is. This made him very curious and so he asked his friends to help him find out more about her. 

As they progress, they started to uncover shocking things about her. Then they hear rumors that a high school Alice student was seen wandering around the grounds at night. Mikan who was helping Tsubasa starts to think that Natsume knows something they don't about her.

Will they find out?

**Flashback: **Tsubasa meets the girl and finds out that her name was Mei. He invited her to tea and she accepted. Feeling happy, he invited Mikan, Ruka and Hotaru who agreed to come as well. When Ruka and Hotaru saw Mei, they noticed that they felt like they have seen her before. And so, the interview goes on and on but when Mikan finally asks what her Alice was she said it was a secret.

Eventually, Hotaru took out one of her inventions and threaten Mei that she would use it on her. Mikan with her usual behavior tried to defend Mei. Seeing that Mikan was a mess Mei offered to help her and so that tea party was over. Then, Natsume sees them together and it seems that he knows Mei.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Reikon**

**In Mikan's classroom.**

"Good morning!" A cheerful Mikan greeted her classmates as she enters the classroom.

She looks around and saw that Yuu was present and he was erasing the blackboard. Excited, she went to him wanting to tell what had happened yesterday.

"Good morning Yuu!" Mikan greeted Yuu when she was right beside him.

"Oh, good morning Mikan." Yuu greeted back and puts down the blackboard eraser. "You seem happy today."

Mikan giggles. "That's because me, Hotaru and Ruka met a new friend yesterday!"

"Really? Sorry, I wasn't able to go with you three yesterday. The teacher needed me to do something." Yuu apologized and then he looks at her. "So, what's her name?"

"Her name is Mei." Mikan replied happily. "And she's a classmate of Tsubasa as well!"

"Mei...I think I've heard of her..." Yuu thought but then Mikan grabbed his hand. "Huh?"

"Come on, I'm sure Ruka can tell you the rest." Mikan pulled Yuu towards Ruka who was sitting next to Natsume as usual. "Hey Ruka! Tell Yuu what happened yesterday."

"Huh?" Ruka looked up from what he was doing." Sure."

"Keep it down will you? You're so damn loud." Natsume said coldly not removing his eyes from his comic.

"Hey! I wasn't that loud!" Mikan answered back with an angry look on her face.

And so, their usual argument began...

"Anyway, so what did happen yesterday?" Yuu asked turning back to Ruka.

"Well..." Ruka slowly began.

* * *

**Meanwhile in the high school classroom.**

"Hey Tsubasa! Are you even listening to me?" A pink-haired high school student called out to the person she was talking to.

"Huh? What did you say?" Tsubasa asked after snapping from his daydreaming and he smiled nervously at Misaki. "Sorry, I had something on my mind."

"Honestly, I don't know what to do with you." Misaki said angrily and folded her arms across her chest. "Anyway, I asked you if you've seen Mei."

"What? You know Mei?" Tsubasa's smile disappeared hearing what she had just said. He grabbed her arm and asked her with a serious look on his face. "You know anything about her?"

Misaki gave Tsubasa a weird look and removed his hand off her. "Of course I do, we've been classmates since we were 4 years old...which reminds me...that was when she first entered the academy..."

"So, do you know what her Alice is?" He asked, leaning against the wall.

"Come to think of it...she's never mentioned her Alice to me before..." Misaki thought out loud. "But, I guess I never cared since I liked her for who she is."

"I see...so that means she hasn't told anyone...I wonder why..." Tsubasa wondered. "Yesterday, I tried to persuade her but she kept on saying that it was a secret..."

"You met her yesterday?" asked Misaki now interested by the fact that Mei hasn't told anyone her Alice. "But she's our classmate; you should have noticed her a long time ago."

"I know, and then I invited her to tea with Mikan and her two friends so that I could get to know her more." explained Tsubasa as he looks out the window. "Everything was going well un-"

"Good morning!"

Misaki and Tsubasa turned to see who had just entered the classroom. Tsubasa eyes widened as he recognizes that girl with long brown hair and glasses. He also noticed that she seemed very tired. And she seemed to be carrying the teacher's books.

"Hey Mei! What took you so long?" Misaki called out to Mei as she walks closer to her. "I've been waiting for you."

"I'm sorry, a teacher asked me to do something." Mei gave her an apologetic smile then she adjusted herself so that she could hold the books properly.

"That's what you get for someone who is our class officer." called out one of their classmates. "But then you deserved it!"

"Oh come on Hiro, you should have won you know." Mei smiled at her ex-rival through her glasses. "Anyway, a vote is a vote."

"Yeah, I guess so..." Hiro agreed and walks over to Mei. "So, is the teacher coming or not?"

"That's why I was late." said Mei as she puts the books she was carrying on the teacher's table. "Okay everybody! Settle down!"

The classroom became quiet and all of them looked at Mei was just standing there behind the table smiling. She fixed her glasses before continuing. Seeing that their class officer had something important to say all them took their seats.

"The teacher is sick today and so I will be your substitute teacher for the day." announced Mei as she fixes some papers. "And maybe, I might be your student-teacher soon."

Hearing this all of them cheered. All they knew that their real teacher was tough and his favorite was obviously Mei. Who started participating in class a lot a few months after she first entered the academy a few years ago.

"Yay! Way to go! Mei is much better than a real teacher!"

"And she's much prettier too; you think she would go out with me?"

"In your dreams! She's way too smart for you."

She watches her classmates joke with each other about the announcement she had just made. Mei smiles as she watches her classmates talk to each other. "Okay, I'll give you all an extra hour to do whatever you want."

This made the class cheer even more until Mei held out one finger. "On one condition."

They all quiet down again, curious what her condition could be until finally Mei started to open her mouth.

"We finish today's lesson and you copy down what I write on the blackboard."

This made sweat drops appear on their heads and some fall anime style. Tsubasa was the only one who was laughing. There were already tears in his eyes as he laughs at the way Mei had fooled the whole class. Misaki had to hit him on the head to stop him. Although it did nothing to stop him from laughing silently.

"Come on, it will be worth it." Mei tried to settle the class down before she opened the book with their lesson. "Trust me."

And so, all of them took out their books and notebooks and Mei began their lesson.

"Okay, the first lesson is..."

Sitting in the back was Tsubasa who was staring at Mei and was awed by the way she was teaching. Almost as though she was a real teacher but even better. Then he remembered that he still didn't know what her Alice was.

_"I'll think about that later, I'll just enjoy this lesson first." _

_

* * *

_

**Back with Mikan and the others.**

"What? Hotaru tried to hit Mei with her invention?" exclaimed Yuu after Ruka had reached the part about Hotaru taking out her invention when Mei wouldn't tell them what her Alice was.

"Yeah, but Mikan got in the way and she got hit instead and..." Ruka stopped as he recalls what had happened next." Well...Mikan..."

"And? Did she get hurt?" Yuu asked anxiously.

"No, she made me turn blue!" Mikan cried out forgetting her argument with Natsume. "Good thing Mei was kind enough to help me wash it off."

"Good thing she agreed to help an idiot like you." Hotaru said as she joins the group. "Although it surprised me though..."

"Hey! You tried to hurt Mei!" accused Mikan and. "And Mei was a really nice person."

"Idiot, I wasn't going to hurt anyone." Hotaru said calmly. "It was an experiment."

"So, you're using Mei as an experiment?" Mikan asked angrily.

"Now calm down Mikan," Yuu said waving his hands in the manner where he was trying to settle things a little. "I think Hotaru wanted to see if Mei would use her Alice if she was threatened. Am I right Hotaru?"

Hotaru sighed. "That's right. I guess an idiot like Mikan couldn't have figured that out sooner."

"HOTARU!"

"So, she won't tell you what her Alice is?" asked Yuu turning his attention from Mikan and Hotaru. "Is that right?"

"Yeah, Tsubasa tried to persuade her but she kept on saying it's a secret." replied Ruka who was petting his rabbit.

"I wonder why?"

"Look, if she doesn't want to tell then leave her alone." Natsume said now looking at them.

"Do you know her Natsume?" asked Ruka and he looked at Natsume.

"No, I don't but I think you shouldn't be poking your noses in other people's business." Natsume said and he sits back. "You and that idiot just might cause trouble."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING IDIOT!" shouted Mikan as she joins them again with a bump on her head.

"Because you are one...idiot..." Hotaru simply explained as she holds her baka gun. "And I agree with Natsume..."

"What do you mean Hotaru?" Yuu asks with a confused look on his face.

"We can't force her and besides..." began Hotaru putting away her baka gun."It might not be that important."

"Ho...taru..." Mikan slowly said just staring at Hotaru.

"Hey Natsume! You have a visitor here." called out Sumire as she approaches them and beside her was a little boy.

"Hiziri..." Natsume said when he saw the boy.

"Oh Natsume! You must be popular among the kids aren't you? My Natsume!" Sumire admired Natsume as usual but he ignored her making Sumire sulk again. "Natsume..."

"Hey! Isn't this the boy who can control evil spirits?" Mikan asked as she looks at the boy.

"Huh?" Hiziri looked at Mikan, a strand of hair went up signaling that he was using his Alice on her.

"OH NO! HELP ME HOTARU!" screamed Mikan as she tries to run away from the evil spirits.

The rest of them just watched her as usual. Some heard her screams and laughed as she tried to run away from the evil spirits. Hiziri then runs to Natsume who lifted him on his lap.

"What so you want?" asked softly Natsume putting his arms around Hiziri to support him. Hiziri looks at Natsume putting his hands on his chest.

"Big...sister..." Hiziri slowly replied as he looks at Natsume. "Where...is...she?"

"Big sister?" Yuu and Ruka blurted out before they realized at how loud they were.

"Hey Natsume, he has a big sister?" Ruka continues to watch Hiziri who was focused on Natsume.

"No, it's just one of the students in my class." Natsume said as he pats Hiziri. "He considers this high school girl as his big sister and has been clingy with her for some time now."

"Where…is...she?" Hiziri asked again as he pulls Natsume's shirt. "Where is she?"

"Sorry, I think she's in her class." Natsume said.

"(pants)...so who is this girl...?" Mikan said in a tired voice as she leans against one of the chairs trying to catch her breath.

"Why should I tell you?" Natsume glared at her. "It's none of your business."

"NATSUME!"

"Come on Mikan, let's get back to our seats before the teacher comes." suggested Yuu.

"Alright..." sighed Mikan as she went back to her seat.

"Okay, you better go now." Natsume puts down Hiziri. "Who knows you just might bump into her."

"Ok..." replied Hiziri as he runs off.

_"They better not try to find out who she really is..."_ Natsume thought to himself as he went back to his comic.

Eventually their teacher came. Mikan began to think about Mei again, she kept on wondering why Mei won't tell her Alice. Then she realized that there is one way to find out what it.

_"Of course! I can ask Mr. Narumi!" _Mikan thought to herself as the teacher discusses. _"I have to tell this to Tsubasa."_

* * *

**In the hallway**

After Hiziri had left their classroom he immediately went to look for his big sister. Not knowing where she is he heads off for the high school classrooms. He saw that there was nobody in sight until he bumped into someone when he looked the other way.

"Oh! I'm really sorry!" apologized the person who had bumped into him. "Are you alright? Oh, it's you..."

Hiziri looked up, he recognized that voice anywhere. Sure enough he saw his big sister. Two eyes filled with warmth were what he saw. Seeing that it was her he hugged her legs making her wobble a bit.

"I was looking for you..." He said to her softly and he looked at her.

Smiling she bent down and patted him. "Really? Don't worry; you can stay with me in my class."

Hiziri looked at her as though he was scared that the teacher might be there. His big sister was able to read his face and so she lifted him. She gave him her warm smile again.

"It will be okay, our teacher is out sick for the day." reassured his big sister. "And my classmates are nice too you know."

Being okay now, he nodded his head 'yes'. So, his big sister started to go back to her classroom with the little boy in her arms. She was about to tell him something when she noticed that he had fallen asleep. Smiling, she left him like that and goes back to her classroom.

* * *

**After class**

Mikan was on her way to the special-ability class. Before, she thought she was an outcast because of that but then she realized that everybody was nice and so she began to like her class. She was alone since Hotaru was a technical type, Yuu is in the latex type and Ruka was in the symatic type. Obviously Natsume is in the dangerous-ability class.

Just then Mikan saw a high school girl walking ahead of her. Since Mikan was still a bit far, she didn't know who it was at first but then she recognized the brown hair.

Realizing who it is she began running towards her. "HEY MEI! IT'S ME MIKAN!"

For some reason Mei didn't hear Mikan who is really loud. She just kept walking and then she turned left at the corner. The hallway Mikan was in was straight and there were two turns at the end either going right or left. Mikan continued to go after and turned left as well. But when she looked, she saw that Mei had disappeared.

"W-What? Where did she go?" She looked at saw that this hallway was long so there was no way that Mei could have turned that fast.

A breeze came as she stood there. Not believing that Mei had disappeared into thin air. She could feel some of the hair on the back of her neck stand up. That was she hated...creepy things like what had just happened. Although, what she had fail to notice is the stone lying on the ground near her.

As Mikan was thinking, she didn't notice that there was someone watching her through the stone. It was the girl with her hair in ponytail and those cold eyes. Giving up, Mikan went the other way to go to her class. When she was gone the girl smiled and picked the stone which she used to spy on Mikan while she hid in the other hallway.

"What are you doing here?"

Recognizing that voice the girl turned around and saw Natsume staring at her. He looked at her face which displayed no emotions and then the stone in her hand. Knowing what she was doing he smirked. And he looked at her again.

"Spying on people eh?"

"I was just curious about that girl." She replied as she puts the stone back on her bracelet. "She seems to be very persistent. And it is my job"

"She's an idiot that's what she is." He closed his eyes slowly.

"Anyway what are you doing here?" she asked putting her hands on her hips.

"Hiziri was looking for you earlier." replied Natsume. "As usual."

"Don't worry, I saw him with the girl who looks exactly like me." She smirked as she recalls what happened earlier.

For a few seconds silence was present. The girl recalled Hiziri and how surprised she was that a boy like him would want to be with someone like her. Actually, it was part of her job to spy or observe what happens in the academy. Natsume was the first one to break the ice.

"By the way, that girl you're talking about I saw her yesterday having tea with some people and that idiot..." Natsume started. "Do you know why she agreed to have tea with them?"

"I have no idea and why are you asking me?" She asked giving him her usual stare.

"I thought you know her very well because of one fact alone." Natsume said smirking again and then stopped when he continued. "Make sure you tell her to stay alert."

"I think she already heard you." She raised an eyebrow as though it was so obvious.

"Yeah whatever." Natsume said as he turned around. "Just stay alert...Reikon..."

"Rei, I prefer that better." Rei corrected Natsume. "And I know, with this Alice I have to."

Rei looks at the bracelet around her right wrist. For long time she has been wearing the bracelet and she wasn't allowed to remove it but even if she wanted she couldn't. It takes enormous effort to remove the kind of bracelet she was wearing.

"This is why you're stuck in the dangerous-ability class."

"You're also with us you know." Rei touched her earring which was like Natsume's. "And we can't change that."

"I know...anyway just don't get too close to them..." Natsume said. "You know the consequences if you do..."

Rei turned around and so their backs were facing each other. "I know and besides..."

Natsume turns his head slightly and looks at Rei whose back was facing him.

"I've already faced it before..." She smirks once again. "And it wasn't pretty..."

And so both of them went into opposite directions. Not a word was mentioned from either of them. Natsume who couldn't see Rei anymore didn't notice a tear escape her eyes.

_"After all...it is my fate..." _

_

* * *

_

**In the special-ability class**

"Oh hey there Mikan!" Misaki greeted Mikan who had just entered the classroom. "As you can see Mr. Noda isn't here again."

Misaki pointed at the classroom that had no teacher again. Mikan saw that most of them were just chatting or napping or eating and so on and so forth. Walking closer to them she took a seat and sighed.

"I wonder when he will get back though..." Tsubasa said looking away from the window. "It's been quite some time since we had a decent class."

"Yeah...well...I have something to tell you..." Mikan said to them softly.

"Well what is it?" Misaki asked getting off the table which she was sitting on. "Come on."

Misaki approaches Mikan and puts a hand on the table while the other was on her hip. Just by hearing her voice, she knew that Mikan wasn't her cheery self today.

Mikan looks at them with a sad face. "Something weird happened to me on my way here."

Tsubasa raises an eyebrow. "Then what happen?"

"I saw Mei walking ahead of me...I called her but she didn't hear and so I started to run towards her..." Mikan began her story.

"She couldn't hear you?" Misaki's eyes widen. "That's weird...normally she has a good sense of hearing..."

"But then she went to the hallway on the right and then when I turned right after her..." Mikan stopped suddenly feeling creeped out for some reason.

"So you went after her..." Tsubasa paused for a while. "Were you able to talk to her?"

"No...you see...the thing is..." Mikan stopped again. "She vanished into thin air!"

"What?" Misaki and Tsubasa exclaimed. "She vanished into thin air?"

Mikan looked at them with a scared look on her face. "I'm telling the truth! That hallway was too long for her to be able to go around the corner so quickly!"

Tsubasa placed his hand on his chin and began to think. "That is weird...are you sure you didn't imagine it all?"

"No! I'm sure it wasn't my imagination." Mikan looked down. "I wonder what's happening...I just want to get to know her more..."

Misaki puts a hand on Mikan's shoulder. "Don't worry; actually I'm a good friend of hers."

"Really?" Mikan looks up.

"That's right! She's been my classmate since we were four years old." Misaki gives Mikan a big smile.

"But you don't know what her Alice is..." Tsubasa pointed out while giving her a knowing smile.

A sweat drop appears on Mikan's and Misaki's head. "What? You don't know what her Alice is?"

Rubbing the back of her head Misaki smiles. "Yeah...you see...at that time it didn't matter to me what her Alice was..."

"I see...I know!" Mikan brightened up after coming up with an idea. "Why don't all of us investigate? And, I just realized that we could ask Mr. Narumi about her."

"Hey that is a great idea." Misaki stands up straight. "Sounds like a good idea, right Tsubasa?"

Tsubasa gives them a shrug and then he replied. "Sure, why not? We could give it a try."

"Okay! Now, first let me write down our class schedule and then..." Misaki starts telling him her plan.

Meanwhile, Mikan was watching them and smiled. She was glad that had friends like them. Even though she was a no-star, they still cared about her and treat her as a friend. Looking out the window, she recalls what had happened earlier.

**"Don't go poking your nose in other people's business."**

"Huh?" Mikan startles as she suddenly recalls what Natsume had said to them earlier. _"Natsume..."_

Shaking the thought out of her mind she continued to listen Misaki talk about their plan. They were going to observe at all times just to see if she was going to use her Alice at least once. It won't be easy though since Mikan witnessed her disappearing then it might happen again.

"You're right...is she notices us following then it's possible she might run off..." Tsubasa agrees when Mikan reminds them about her experience earlier.

"But why would she do that?" Misaki asks thinking hard about what could be the reason.

"Who knows? Maybe because she has something she doesn't want to tell us..." Tsubasa gives them a shrug.

"Anyone, if we find out then we might be able to help." Mikan rests her head on the table.

Tsubasa and Misaki both nodded in agreement. "Okay! Let's continue with the plan!"

For the rest of their class period they tried to come up with plans on how to follow her without her getting suspicious. Good thing Misaki was with them since she knew more about Mei than them. Outside, it was a fine day for all them except for one person who was under a tree.

"Don't worry...I will continue..." She said softly to the tree. "I have to go now..."

She looked up and saw that the sky was clear. White clouds were floating across the sky. Smiling, she recalls a happy memory. Finally she turns away from the view and slowly went back inside. As she walks further it seems that she was vanishing more and more until...she was gone...


	3. Trust?

**A/N: **I am so sorry for this very late update. I have been busy with school and drowning in the pit of writer's block...Anyway here is the next chapter!

_Feedbacks and critiques are welcome here. _

* * *

**  
**

**Summary: **Tsubasa, an Alice high school student. He was just taking a nap on top of a tree as usual but when he woke up he noticed that he wasn't alone. A girl he never noticed before, but she claims that she has been in the Alice Academy ever since she was 4 years old. And she won't tell him what her Alice is or what type it is. This made him very curious and so he asked his friends to help him find out more about her.

As they progress, they started to uncover shocking things about her. Then they hear rumors that a high school Alice student was seen wandering around the grounds at night. Mikan who was helping Tsubasa starts to think that Natsume knows something they don't about her.

Will they find out?

* * *

**Chapter 3: **

**Trust? **

**In the hallways**

"Psst! There she is!" Misaki hissed at Tsubasa and Mikan who were hiding in the bushes beside her. Both of them poked their heads out to get a better look.

They were currently outside hiding in the bushes. Misaki told them that during break times Mei would walk around by herself in the hallways. Seeing this opportunity for them to spy on her, they went ahead of her and hid in the bushes. Crouching down they peeked through the leaves and watched Mei as she walks not noticing anything.

"I guess she can't sense us or anything..." Tsubasa whispered keeping his eyes on Mei. After she turned at the corner he motioned at Misaki and Mikan. "Come on! We have to follow her!" Then he went ahead with them following.

Quietly, they sneaked down the hallway. Tsubasa flattened himself against the wall before checking to see if Mei was there. Slowly, he peeked into the hallway and what he saw scared the hell out of him.

"AHHHHHH!" Tsubasa screamed and fell backwards. This made Mikan and Misaki scream as well. "What is it?" Misaki asked desperately holding on to Mikan.

They heard somebody chuckle and took a step forward revealing himself. "Hey there guys!" It was Mr. Narumi being his sneaky self again. "Sorry if I gave you guys a fright." He rubbed the back of his head smiling at them.

"You gave us more than a fright! You almost gave me a heart-attack!" exclaimed Tsubasa as he eases himself off the floor, clutching the part where his heart is located. Still confused Mikan went to Mr. Narumi. "What happened back here?"

"Well, you see..." He rubbed his chin not sure how to say it. They also notice that he was wearing one of the tops that made him look feminine but they didn't say anything about it this time.

"When I looked, he just popped out of nowhere!" Tsubasa said brushing some dirt off his sleeves. "And he was making this weird face..." He narrowed his eyes at Mr. Narumi who laughed nervously.

"Anyway, what are you doing here Mr. Narumi?" Misaki asked now facing Mr. Narumi. She gave him a questioning look. "It's not like you're sneaking around as well?"

"No! It's nothing like that!" Narumi defended himself. "It just happens I saw the three of **you **sneaking around and so I decided to check." He explained pointing at each of them.

"Um...well...you see..." Mikan tried to find a way to explain. _"Oh no...what can I tell him?" _Thinking desperately she began to panic. _"OH NO! WHAT AM I GOING TO TELL HIM?"_

Seeing that this was going nowhere Misaki finally broke the silence. "Hey Mikan, don't you have something to ask Mr. Narumi?" She looked at Mikan trying to remind her of their plan.

"What?" Puzzled at first then she remembered. Filled with determination again she said, "Oh yeah! I do have something to ask you Mr. Narumi!"

"Really? Then what is it?" He asked kindly, bending down slightly to hear her. "Mikan?"

"Do you anybody named Mei?" She finally asked after taking a deep breath. "There's something we need to know from her...so you see..."

Judging from Narumi's reaction when Mikan mentioned Mei, Tsubasa knew right away he knew something because immediately a surprised looked appeared on Narumi's face and then Narumi smiled again.

"Why yes, I think I know her..." He replied slowly, quickly recovering. "Is she your friend Mikan?"

"Yeah...she's in Tsubasa's and Misaki's class..." Mikan replied pointing at the two. She said with a sad look on her face, "But there are some things she won't tell us..."

"Like her alice?" Narumi asked raising an eyebrow and as he had expected the three of them got surprised. So, more students are intrigued to try and reveal Mei's alice. This isn't the first time that there were some who tried, but they failed. "I was right then…

"You knew that we wanted to know her alice?" Tsubasa asked, deeply curious by the teacher's deduction. "But how did you know? Aside from Mikan's friends, nobody else knows that."

"Well, you see as I was passing by your classroom…" Narumi began to explain, smiling nervously and lightly scratching his cheek. "I just happened to hear your little conversation."

"So you know Mei's alice?" Mikan asked hopefully. "Can you tell us?"

He closed his eyes and paused for a while before replying. "I'm sorry, but I think its best that she will be the one to tell you."

"What? Even you can't tell us?" Misaki asked being confused. "Wait, do you really know what her alice is?" She gave him a questioning look.

"Of course, I do." He replied and gave them a naughty smile. "But I can't tell you."

"Why is that?" Mikan pouted and grabbed Narumi's hand. A worried look appeared in her face. "We just want to know! That's all!"

Narumi bent down and placed a hand on Mikan's head. "I know it seems strange." He said in a soft voice. "But I can't tell you because…I made a promise to her…and that promise is that I won't tell anybody unless she allows me to…" A sigh escaped his mouth. It couldn't be helped as he was telling the truth.

"Strange…why did she make you promise that?" Misaki asked curiously. "And why didn't she tell me anything about it?" Placing her hands on her hips she gave a sort of angry look. "I am her best friend!"

Standing up he sighed again. "I know you seem upset that she's been keeping some things from you…but she really loves you as her best friend." He gave her a soft smile. "Trust me."

"Okay, we'll trust you for now." Tsubasa said finally after watching them. "But can you at least tell us where Mei went?"

"Hmm? I didn't anybody aside from you guys." Narumi pointed out. "If I did see her, then I would have stopped and said 'hi'." He stepped back and let them see that he was right, there was nobody in sight.

All of them were confused, they were sure that Mei went this way. Misaki then looked at Tsubasa and a thought crossed her mind. "Are you sure you saw her?"

"What? You don't believe me?" Tsubasa exclaimed angrily. "You saw her go this way too you know!" He couldn't understand it, they saw her go this way but they only saw Mr. Narumi. _"Could it be her alice?"_

Mikan looked at Misaki and then at Mr. Narumi, "He's right you know…we saw her go this way too…"

Realizing this, Misaki gave a big sigh. "I guess you're right…but still…I can't believe she was able to give us the slip…"

After cooling down a bit, Tsubasa realized that they weren't going anywhere at this rate and they needed a new plan. Then they all heard the school bell ringing.

Tsubasa stretched a while before saying, "Well, I say we stop this for now and go back to class."

"That's right, you kids better concentrate on your studies first." Narumi nodded and then walked off. "I'll see you later then." And he walked down the hallway.

"Well, come on Mikan." Misaki smiled at Mikan who was still confused. "Don't worry; I'll try to talk to her in class."

"Okay…" Mikan replied softly and then she smiled. "I'll be fine! But I won't give up!"

Tsubasa chuckled, but he was glad that Mikan still had her spirit. "Alright, then! I'll go and take a nap." He started to walk towards his usual napping spot when…

"Oh no you don't mister!" Misaki said and grabbed him by the ear. "We're going to class AND try to talk to Mei face to face." Then she started to drag him towards their class.

"Hey! Let me go!" He struggled to get her let go but she kept her grip tight. "I can walk you know!"

"Yeah whatever." Misaki just said and she continued to drag Tsubasa. Then she turned to Mikan who's been watching them. "So we'll see you later Mikan!"

"Ah…right..." The confused girl waved and then she followed them back since they were going the same way anyway.

Somehow, they had forgotten about their teacher who just watched them coolly. After the three of them were gone, the coast was clear. Narumi who had been waiting for them to leave continued down the hallway. As he passed one of the pillars, out came Mei!

Walking slowly, she thought to herself on what would have happened if they were able to keep up with her. As much as possible she didn't want them to know her alice. While walking down the corridor, she was able to sense them but she kept quiet, to make the think she was preoccupied with herself.

_"Good thing I was able to disguise myself as Mr. Narumi before they came...I would have been forced to use a part of my alice..." _Still walking, she gazed at her pocket watch. _"Misaki is my best friend...that's why...she can't know...she shouldn't..." _Clutching the watch tightly, she vowed to herself that she would never let either of them find out.

"Trying to impersonate me again?"

Startled, she turned and saw the real Narumi leaning on the wall in the hallway at her right. Seeing that it was just him she relaxed. "Oh, it's just you Mr. Narumi." Silently and quickly, she placed the object in her hand back away and looked at him with her familiar calm gaze.

He stood up straight with his hands in his pockets, he turned to her. "So what are you up to this time?"

_"He knows...so why did her have to ask?" _she asked herself, but made sure that it didn't show on her face. "I didn't like them spying on me…" Mei replied softly. "So, I decided to disguise myself as you…" All of a sudden she felt slightly guilty but she set that aside for now.

"So why didn't you tell them yourself?" He asked curiously, and brushed some invisible dirt from his sleeves. "Making them think I didn't see you pass will make them even more suspicious."

_"So he was listening to us the whole time..."_ Mei turned her gaze away from him to the gardens just a few feet away from them. , "I know, but if I tried to run then they might have tried to come after me…" Then she looked into Narumi's eyes with her serious eyes. "Besides, it's true that you made a promise with me…"

"That's right…" Closing his eyes he continued with a smile. "So, do you want them to know the whole truth?"

"I don't really know…sometimes I do…but then…" Her voice trailed off, she then clenched her fists. Narumi noticed this but didn't say anything. "My alice..."

Putting a hand on her shoulder he gave her a warm smile. "I understand…now go to you next class now." Then he walked off down the hallway, "Don't forget! They are your friends". He waved, still walking ahead of her.

She smiled sadly as one of the very few people she trusts walk away then she looked at her wrist where a mark that had been invisible appeared. A mark that would forever remind her of her fate, labeling her as someone dangerous, but she has no choice but to accept it. _"That's right...but...I can't let them get hurt..." _With this thought, she self-consciously pulled her sleeve to cover it as it faded and turned to go to the faculty.

* * *

**With Mikan and the others...**

"That was strange...Mei disappeared again..." muttered Mikan, walking with her head down. She sighed, "I don't think she wants to talk to us..."

Another plan failed and Mikan was already getting depressed. Quietly observing her, Misaki thought to herself, _"It is strange...why would Mei hide anything from us? And from me..." _Sadly realizing this fact, they have been best friends for a long time but up until now, Mei had never shared her anything about her alice.

Putting a hand on Mikan's head, Misaki said with a smile on her face, "Don't worry Mikan, I'll try to talk to her later in class. Now go on, you have to go to your next class." She turned to Tsubasa who was staring into the space. "Come on Tsubasa! We have to go or else we'll be late!"

"Huh?" He looked at her and nodded. "Yeah, let's go..." And he started to walk towards their classroom without saying another word or saying bye to Mikan.

"What's wrong with him?" She stared at him and then she went back to Mikan. "Okay, see you later Mikan!" And she turned and tried to catch up with Tsubasa. "Hey! Wait up!" she called out to him but he didn't stop.

"Bye..." Mikan said softly and she turned to the other direction. She had experienced problems with Hotaru before, but she had never encountered situations like his. A friend who all of sudden begins to avoid you, hides secrets and doesn't seem to want to let you get close to her.

"None of your business..." replied Natsume, he turned and started to walk down the hallway. The whole time he had been observing them from the shadows as he had spotted them in the bushes. What dorks they are; they can't even spy properly as it was very easy to see them hiding in the shrubbery.

"Hey! Natsume! Wait for me!" called out Mikan, now running until she was right beside him. "You were worried weren't you?" she smiled at him.

"What are you talking about?" asked Natsume, keeping his eyes straight. "It just so happens that we were in the same hallway..."

She giggled, "You said that but I know that it's not true."

"Whatever..." He hates it when she's right, but chooses not to admit, it would only make her more annoying - as the level she's in now is high enough. "Anyway, what were you doing with those two?"

"We were trying to talk to Mei but...she suddenly disappeared..." answered Mikan, her voice soft and with a sad look on her face."I just want to know what her alice is...but it seems that she's avoiding us..."

_"But why? Aren't we her friends?" _she thought quietly to herself. Even though they only met each other yesterday, they were friends and friends don't have to keep secrets from each other. Poor Misaki, even she's being kept away from a part of her best friend's life.

"Didn't I tell you not to poke into other people's business?" he reminded her. "Can't you even get that into that hard head of yours?" Unexpectedly, he knocked on her head as though he was checking how hard it is.

"HEY! WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?" Mikan angrily shouted, her hands holding her head.

"To check if you actually have a brain in there," he replied coldly. "If you did then you would have come to the conclusion to just leave Mei alone."

Suddenly, this had Mikan thinking, ever since she first mentioned about meeting Mei and how much she wanted to find out what her alice is, Natsume has been telling her to just give it up. It was as though he didn't want her to find out, like he was protecting Mei.

"Hey Natsume..." she began slowly."Are you telling me to back off because you know Mei?"

Hearing this, he stopped in his tracks and turned to the pigtailed girl, a frown crossed his face. "And what gives you the idea that I actually know her?" Natsume inquired. This wasn't good as he's not supposed to show that he and that girl were somehow related. _"Shoot...this girl is sharper than I thought..." _

"Well, you keep on telling me to leave her alone..." He's lying, she knows he is. Why else would he continue telling her to stop trying to convince Mei to telling them her ability? "And it seems as though you're protecting her..."

For a moment he just looked at her with those same cold eyes and then he looked away from her. "What are you talking about? I'm just telling you not to stick your empty head into other people's lives."

That answer hit the bull's eye in Mikan's guts. "W-What did you just say?" she asked, shaking in anger.

Repeating it again but more slowly, "You have got no brains...Idiot..."

"NATSUME!"

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She couldn't go back to the classroom. The two were most likely in there right now and if she steps inside, for sure she will be bombarded with questions. So the only option left for her is to go to the library as get started on the projects she had asked from the teachers.

To keep her mind off these troubling thoughts, she had decided to purposely bury herself in school work, including teaching and tutoring the younger students. Anything to make her forget about it, even just for a second and ignore the pain inside but somehow, it doesn't work. Even so, Mei still hasn't given up in getting more assignments from teachers.

_"Let's see…I can get started on the research for History…" _Mei thought to herself as she stepped into the library, one of her favorite places in the whole academy. Not only were there usually few people, but it felt wonderful to be surrounded by books. It soothed her, the sight of bookshelves full of them.

"Ah, you've come to do some work dear?" a soft voice came from nearby.

She turned to find the assistant librarian, in the middle of placing books back on the shelves. A kind but strict woman, who is also a wise one, and she's known Mei for a long time so it wasn't a surprised for her to see her today.

A small smile formed on the brunette's lips. "That's right, so I will be staying at the usual place today."

"Go ahead, it's vacant as always."

"Thank you."

With that, she started to make way for the section where she would find the books she would need. After finding enough – which is actually as she is now carrying a stack of books – Mei went straight to the study table located somewhere at the back. Since she was the only one so far who normally goes there, she had even made sure that she would keep it supplied with the materials she needs.

Very convenient, just in case she would ever come without her bag. Gently setting down the books, she rolled up her sleeves. "Alright then, I better get started on these." Determination and concentration etched on her face, she started working, slowly locking away the thought of someone discovering her secret for the mean time.

-----------

Meanwhile, the two were back in the classroom, in the middle of a lesson. One of them was pretty mad.

Tsubasa, who wasn't worried or angry, just leaned on his cheek on the palm of his hand, lazily watching the teacher in front write on the board. From the corner of his eye, he could see Misaki holding her pen rather tightly.

"Why are you so angry about?" he whispered, keeping an eye on the teacher as not to get in trouble.

The frown on her face just deepened as she pointed at the front, where Mei normally sits. His eyes trailed the direction of her finger and immediately knew why. She wasn't there. Odd, it seems unlike her to be missing class. She is a hard-working student.

"Maybe a teacher is talking to her or something…" Tsubasa gave her a shrug. It didn't bother him that much, but still…

"She's hiding from us…I know she is…" she muttered, trying to copy down the lesson in spite of her anger.

Again, her seatmate just shrugged and turned back to the board, but got tired of it already and instead looked out the window. Ever since he first laid eyes on her, he couldn't stop thinking about her and it wasn't because of the fact that she was avoiding them, not revealing her ability, but there was something else…

Question is…what?

"Mr. Andou! Stop your daydreaming and read the second paragraph for us." The teacher said sternly, folding his arms across his chest.

"Right away sir!" he exclaimed, standing up and fumbled to turn to the page of the said paragraph. Misaki sighed at her lazy friend and just went back to her own work. _"Shoot…not again…oh well…it's worth thinking about her…" _

"We're waiting."

"Yes sir!"

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**A/N: **I have received a review asking whether Mei and Rei are twins. Unfortunately, I cannot let out any details at this point. You will have to continue reading to find out. 


	4. A new tale

**A/N:** Sorry for this very late update! I've been swamped with schoolwork and was attacked by a massive writer's block. But now, it's gone! Well, a huge chunk of it is, otherwise I would have made this chapter more interesting. Alright then, hope you all enjoy this chapter.

_Feedbacks and Critiques are welcome here._

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**Chapter Four:**

**A new tale**

Weeks had passed, and they were slowly starting to forget their intention on having Mei to confess. Exams were about to take place, so studying occupied their minds, causing them to brush this personal matter aside from now. So much has happened in the past few days, such as the incident wherein Hotaru had created a robot that looked exactly like Mikan. It was an ordinary day at the academy, they were currently writing down notes, Biology notes to review for their tests. Teachers were putting pressure on them bits by bits, constantly reminding them to study hard so that they won't have to worry about having to repeat the same level.

Mr. Misaki, who had just finished writing the notes on the blackboard placed down the chalk and turned around to face the class. He closed his book and said, "Alright class, I want you all to study these carefully because the day after tomorrow I'm going to give you a review quiz. So make sure you have all of this copied down."

_Rrrriiiiinnngggg!!!_

He abruptly placed the book down and said, "Class dismissed." After the students have acknowledged his leave, he silently left the room.

The silence that had been present in the room was shattered; their chattering filled the classroom as they began to fix their things. Mikan stretched as Hotaru placed away her notebooks. "Hey Hotaru, you want to study with me later?" Mikan asked brightly. An idea struck her and she clapped her hands together. "I know! Why don't we have a study slumber party? We can invite the others as well!"

Eyes twinkling in excitement, she visualized all of them, girls, having a blast by bonding with each other. Sharing stories, fixing each other's hair, eating midnight snacks, sipping hot cocoa and playing fun games! Oh what a night it will be if they all were to gather together. Now that she thinks about it, when was the last time they did something like that? Sure they're close, but she desires their friendship bond to strengthen, and not with just Hotaru but with Ana, Nonoko and maybe even Sumire!

Hotaru however, didn't seem all that interested and just continued to put away her notes. "Knowing you, you'll just end up causing trouble when you should be studying," she said in her usual monotone voice. "Besides, I can study by myself. Actually it would be best for me to do so."

Mikan was heartbroken; she had been rejected by her best friend. It felt like everything around her had ruptured and she felt that painful ache in her heart. But like always, no other emotion was displayed on the inventor's face, only the same solemn expression she wears daily. Teary-eyed, she began to gesture wildly. "B-But Hotaru! You don't mean that don't you? I'm sure that we're going to have so much fun along with Nonoko and-"

"Hey, did you hear? Someone saw the ghost!" one said, clearly excited by this piece of information he received.

"No way!?! Wasn't that just a rumor?" the other said, not entirely convinced.

"Well, it must be real since someone from the middle school building saw it last night. So the story is true!"

Her ears sharpened after picking up these words, intrigued by the topic and saw averted her gaze to the two boys. One of them was Kokoro, gifted with the alice of mind-reading, and the other was Mochiage, who has Telekinesis as his Alice. Both of them were currently debating whether the gossip was true or not. Slowly, the color in her face drained. "G-G-Ghost here?" she stammered, terrified at the thought of seeing one.

Both students had heard her shaky voice and so transferred their attention to her. The whole class became silent, all eyes fixed on them. Mochiage raised an eyebrow and asked, "You haven't heard about it?"

Mikan slowly shook her head. Then Yuu stepped in and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry Mikan, it's just one of those stories that people make up." He said in a reassuring voice, but it did little to calm her down.

She pointed at the two, slightly trembling. "B-But they said someone saw it!"

A loud and obnoxious laugh interrupted them, it was none other than Sumire. One hand under her mouth and the other resting on her waist, she moved forward and flashed Mikan her signature mean smile. "It's obviously a lie! I mean, things like ghosts don't exist!" Sumire said, confident with her words. "Even if there were, they would never scare me." She boasted and sounded her laugh once more.

Yuu only laughed weakly, and transferred his gaze to the two. "So someone said that was what he saw?"

One of them nodded. "That's right, I just heard it this morning. One of the middle school students was on his way to the bathroom at around midnight last night, when he started to hear footsteps," he began and everybody kept still, listening carefully to his words. "Whenever he turns around, there was nobody but once he starts to walk, the footsteps would follow. He kept on stopping and checking behind him, but there wasn't a soul in sight."

Images of the poor student walking all along in the dark corridor flooded Mikan's mind, frightening her even more. Nonoko and Ana were already holding on to each other in fright, Yuu and Hotaru were just standing there, listening with what seemed to be little interest. Ruka was seated beside Natsume, hanging on to every word, gently holding on to the rabbit in his arms, while Natsume just continued to read his manga. He briefly glanced at them and let out a soft snort. It all seemed pointless to them.

"Tch…stupid girl…" he said and returned to his book.

Shivers ran down Mikan's spine when the part of the mysterious footsteps was mentioned. She hardly goes outside her room in the middle of the night and so wasn't worried about anything happening until now. A barely audible whimper escaped her lips; she muffled them with her knuckles and proceeded in paying attention to the story. Terrified she may be, but she was also curious as to what happened next.

"And…then…?" she asked softly. Inside, she wasn't all that sure if she really wanted to hear the rest, but it was too late to swallow her words as the two proceeded.

"It just keeps on going on and on," Kokoro continued. The way the story was going, it caused an invisible and scary atmosphere to descend on them, only increasing their fear, well, the fear of some. "Until, he stopped when he noticed that the footsteps had stopped."

Everything became still, it was as though almost everyone was holding their breath, the suspense slowly gripping them.

"Carefully, he started to turn around but then…" Mochiage trailed off, adding suspense to their tale.

This made Mikan anxious. "And then? What happened?"

A dramatic pause took place before the two made scary faces and shouted, "He saw the ghost standing there in front of him with red eyes!!!"

The girls screamed, so loud that everybody else had to cover their ears.

"What in the world is going on in here?"

All eyes traveled to the door to find Mr. Narumi standing there, wearing a simple polo short this time, apparently puzzled on what was happening. Relieved to see him, Mikan rushed towards him and hugged his waist. "Mr. Narumi! There's a ghost in the building!" she cried. Being her father figure, (plus he promised to be after that incident with the letters), he only smiled weakly and placed one hand on her head while the other rested on her small shoulder.

He looked up at the two. "So what's this about a ghost I hear?" he asked, smiling; his interest towards the subject evident.

Kokoro and Mochiage were baffled. "You mean, you don't know too Mr. Narumi?" Kokoro asked and stepped forward. "But they said that the ghost has been here for ages!" he exclaimed.

It took Narumi a few seconds for his brain to register on which ghost they were talking about. Once he understood it, he lightly cupped his chin with one hand. "Oh, that ghost…but you honestly believe in that?" Deep inside, he was surprised to find this old tale to be spreading once again. A lot of time has passed since it became the topic of the school. "Could be all just a trick to scare you guys." He added and returned to Mikan who was staring at him, teardrops still present.

"You know the story?" she asked softly.

Narumi started to scratch his cheek, unsure if he really should tell them or not, but what the heck? "Well, you could say that I was already teaching here when the story was created by some students…"

"WHAT!?!"

-------------

"Hey Tsubasa! Wait up!" called out Misaki as she ran up to the blue-haired boy.

Tsubasa had been aimlessly walking along the hallways, carrying a book in one hand, but didn't bother to read it, too distracted he was to study right now. Classes had just ended and he had wordlessly exited the classroom, his head pondering on several questions he has. At the sound of the familiar voice and command behind him, he stopped and glanced back to find Misaki bent down, breathing deeply and trying to catch her breath.

Once she did, she straightened herself and frowned. "What's up with you? Not only have you been slacking off during classes, but you seem to be anti-social these days." She said irately, hands on her hips.

An eyebrow arched and he blinked at her innocently. "Am I? I don't think I am." Replied Tsubasa and shrugged. "At least, I don't feel like I am…" Was he really? He didn't notice, he never did, but probably because he was too preoccupied with his own thoughts. Is he being unlike himself? Is that why Misaki was making such a fuss over this?

This only made her groan, "Don't try to act a fool, although you are one-"

"Hey!"

"I know something is troubling you and I want to know what it is right now!" she ordered, as she jabbed a finger on his chest. Him being the secretive on too got to her nerves because she has had enough problems on her hands right now and he was only adding to them.

"Sheesh…calm down will ya?" Tsubasa gently made her lower her arm and looked off to the side. "You're not my mother or anything…" he mumbled.

"Look, I-"She stopped herself, when she saw how down he seemed to be. At this rate, she won't get anything if she starts an argument with him. She balled her hand into a fist and relaxed, the anger slowly ebbing away. As soon as she had stomped away the anger, she said as calmly as she could, "I'll be in the library. I'm going to meet up with Mei to study, join us if you feel like it." Without another word, she turned on her heels and started to walk away from him, leaving him to think by himself.

Tsubasa just watched as she turned at the corner, truly understanding what she was thinking. He could have easily told her, but what was difficult for him was that he didn't know how to put the answer into words. It was something indescribable. For several days, he had been trying to get rid of it, make it go away so that he may concentrate on more important matters. Like the exams that were coming nearer and nearer each day. He had forgotten something, but he couldn't put a finger on it.

Mildly frustrated, he whirled around and continued his journey down the corridors, no particular destination in mind. Maybe a break is what he needs, a chance to get away from it all, some time for himself. But for a long time now, he has been known for slacking off, but when it comes to tests, he studies for them. And now, here he is, surprisingly not caring about his studies at the moment. Irritation was now setting in, he shoved his hands inside his pockets, the book held between his torso and arm.

_What is it? _

He came to a halt in the middle of the hallway. Eyebrows furrowed, he scratched his head and said aloud, "Maybe I should join them…might help get me to study or something…"

--------------

Amidst the sea of bookshelves stood Mei, who was currently skimming through some books, only reading part of the pages before returning them to the shelves to move on to the next. The fact that they were to have exams very soon helped her to get her mind off of things, even assisting her to stay focus. Although, she too had noticed that Tsubasa was being odd these days, but hadn't had a chance to inquire about it for her schedule was a bit full. A lot of tasks needed to be done, but right now was her personal study period and any moment now, Misaki would arrive and join. Maybe, Tsubasa will be with her, be his old cheery self and-

"Peek-a-boo!" Caught by surprise as a pair of hands covered her eyes, gentle enough as to not break her reading glasses. Mei gasped, but instantly recovered for only one person would have the nerve to startle her in the middle of reading. The corner of her mouth tugged into a smile and she said, "Alright Misaki, you got me this time." Mei reached up to remove the hands, but Misaki stayed put.

"Oh no you don't, first you must describe to me what the rare and extinct species that is called 'Misaki' before I can let you go." She teased. There, all those bad emotions gone. For now, but it was better than trudging in them.

"Why 'Misaki' happens to be on of the most impulsive-"Mei began, confident.

"Impulsive???"

"-also very noisy-"

"Ex-cuse me?"

"And is known for having the fear of-"

Misaki let out an 'eep!' and quickly transferred her hands to Mei's mouth to prevent from the rest of her words to follow. A vein slightly bulging out, she grumbled, "Fine, we're even this time…" She uncovered Mei's mouth and sulkily started to head towards one of the vacant study tables, mumbling beneath her breath while Mei chuckled at her friend's behavior. She gathered the pile of books into her arms and joined Misaki at the table then set down the books. She paused when the gloomy look on Misaki's face caught her attention. Puzzled and concerned, she asked, "What's the matter? Aren't you feeling well?"

An awful feeling sank in her stomach, but she put that aside for now and waited patiently for the doppelganger to reply. Misaki sighed heavily. "No, but Tsubasa seems to be isolating himself lately…" she said, her eyes transfixed on a page of the open book before her, but she wasn't reading. "Also, I don't know how long I can take these study sessions you take Mei…" she added, narrowing her eyes at Mei who only laughed nervously.

"I do have to keep my grades up." She said a bit defensively, but fortunately, Misaki didn't notice and went on.

"Anyway, I just might able to score high this time…" she added and plopped her head on the wooden surface. Good thing that she still has Mei here to cheer her up or else Tsubasa won't be the only one with a rain cloud hovering above his head. Besides, it could be one of those types of mood swings boys get from time to time, so it should be over soon. "So, what subject are we taking today?" she asked as she reached into her bag to get out her pencil case.

"Well, I think we should tackle the hardest which is Math." Mei replied, holding up the book that was about the subject she said. The small smile remained glued to her lips as Misaki groaned loudly. Not that she had a hard time with it or anything, but she hates having to compute several numbers for one measly answer. At least she was doing fine, but it's not her favorite or anything.

"Okay, but this time you have to solve the word problems…" Misaki opened her math notebook and started to flip through the pages. "Now what was the last topic again? Oh wait, here it is…" she started to formulate a problem for Mei to solve, a hard one so that she may feel the wrath of having one's mind throb in pain from too many numbers. Before she knew it, she was being dragged to the realm of sadism. An evil gleam appeared in her eyes, making Mei a bit anxious.

Scribbling away, Mei watched in amusement as her friend determinedly tries to give her a challenge, something that she would have a hard time to solve. Fingers entwined together, Mei rested her head on the back of her hands, staring at the pink-haired girl as she waits for the questions she is to answer. It wasn't long before her mind started to drift away, then she recalled an announcement that was made to her not too long ago. To break the negative vibes Misaki was letting out, she decided to give it a shot and spark up a conversation.

"Have you heard? A student fainted last night."

"Yeah…the guys were talking about it earlier…" answered Misaki, partially paying attention as she was already focused on making problems for Mei to solve. "But you know people these days, they'll do anything for some attention…"

Head tilted a bit to the side, Mei asked, genuinely curious, "But, I heard that the student kept on going about seeing a ghost…"

Misaki looked up. "A ghost?" she repeated, not entirely amused or anything by this. "Right and I bet he saw the Boogie Man too…" she huffed and returned to jotting some words down. "Puh-leeze, "She said, waving her hand in a manner that she was merely shooing away that ridiculous excuse. "There's no such thing as ghosts. Everyone knows that."

All Mei could do was shrug. "Anything is possible in this world." She said simply, only to earn herself a nonchalant reaction from her. To get back on track, Mei held out her palm to Misaki. "Alright then, are you done?"

An evil smirk crept its way to the pink-haired girl's lips as she handed Mei the sheet. "Take your time."

-------------

Back with Mikan and the others, everything had settled down.

"So Mr. Narumi, what's the story about?"

Now leaning against one of the tables, Narumi was surrounded by his students, only a few as the rest left to do their own tasks. Since he admitted that he was around when the story was created, he has no choice but to tell them the original story that was told. Before beginning, he folded his arms across his chest and asked, "You sure you all want to hear the story?"

"Oh yes we do Mr. Narumi!" exclaimed Mikan, obviously did not bother to think about this. After all, she is afraid of things that are out there to scare the daylights out of her.

"Speak for yourself," Natsume said out of the blue. Several pairs of eyes trailed to him. "Who was acting like a baby when the two were telling you the rumor?" he said pointedly. Once again bringing her down like he always does, never missing the chance to humiliate her, no matter what the reason may be.

Mikan pouted and glared at him. "I was not acting like a baby Natsume!" she retorted, anger begin to build up. She hates it whenever he insults her like that. Why can't he ever learn to keep his mouth shut for once? Or better yet, why can't he say something nice at least once in a while? Shooting him another glare, she returned to Narumi who was chuckling at the scene. To him, they get along quite well. He's never seen such an entertaining pair.

"On the other hand, he is right, considering the fact that you were practically in tears earlier…" Hotaru said, in her monotone voice.

"Hotaru! You're supposed to be on my side!" whined Mikan, once again betrayed.

Hotaru looked away. "Who said I was?"

"Anyway, please tell us what happened." She pleaded with her hands together and held in front of her. Her begging voice dragged him out of his thoughts, but he managed to give her and the others a warm smile. It wouldn't hurt to tell them, would it? All of them are his students and since they study here, they do sort of have the right to know about it. Who knows? Maybe it will help them forget about this ghost fiasco that a student had created. If it really is a prank.

The teacher couldn't refuse and complied. "Alright then, but you have to promise that you won't mention this to anybody else." All of them nodded, to his delight and so he took a moment to himself before starting.

"This story is about a student who lost something very precious." Everybody was silent, careful as not miss any important detail. This certainly had him slightly amazed, but it was not a secret that young generations were interested in things like this particular case they have come across. Now he wonders who exactly reignited the circulation of this old tale.

"Precious?" Ruka said aloud. This whole scenario felt oddly familiar, but then again, it could be because he came across this kind of story in a book before.

Narumi nodded. "That's right, this student lost someone very dear to him. The only family he ever had."


End file.
